Have you noticed something wrong with your phone? Maybe it’s been slower than usual. It weirdly won’t let you open certain apps. You refresh the page it still doesn’t work. Well, the school may be installing new applications onto the WiFi to prevent you from accessing certain apps and websites like Pinterest and Instagram.
I came in contact with this new application that the school has installed, Fortinet, when I tried to open Pinterest on my non-school issued MacBook while connected to the school’s internet. Personally, it angered me that the school is doing this, as I feel that they have no right to do so on my personal device. According to Fortinet.com, “Fortinet delivers comprehensive security and easy management for K-12 environments of any size. Our consolidated solution for cyber and physical security protects students, staff and faculty.” So, of course, on school issued-laptops these social media programs would normally be blocked. But blocking them off our phones and non-issued laptops/tablets through the WiFi too? I don’t know that I can get behind that.
Seeing it from a teacher perspective, this new program that blocks out these social media apps could be good help students focus better and stay off their phones during class, causing them to accomplish their work. But that means during the whole day these apps are being delayed on purpose, and won’t load. This is potentially good for teachers but also bad for students. It’s a way for students to stay connected with their peers during the day; not everyone’s primary way of texting people is through messenger, but social media apps. But then you have to take into consideration that if a student can’t go without social media for an extended period of time, maybe it’s a good thing to keep these apps blocked on phones and other devices through school WiFi. So what do we do?
